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The Absurdity in Religion Explained

The 'Invisible Pink Unicorn', the 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' & the 'Celestial Teapot' explained, utilizing humor to show the absurdity of religious dogma.

* The Invisible Pink Unicorn:

The Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU) is the goddess of a satiric parody religion aimed at theistic beliefs, which takes the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink.[1] These attributes serve to satirize the apparent contradictions in properties which some attribute to a theistic God.[2]

The IPU is commonly used to highlight the perceived fallacious or arbitrary nature of supernatural beliefs by, for example, replacing the word "God" in any theistic statement with "Invisible Pink Unicorn".[3] A quote from the alt.atheism FAQ sums up this use of the Invisible Pink Unicorn:

The point of this silliness is to prod the theist into remembering that their preaching is likely to be viewed by atheists as having all the credibility and seriousness of preaching about the IPU.[4]

It is accepted that there are no actual believers in this mock goddess, but it has become popular, especially on atheist web sites and on-line discussion forums, to feign belief in her both for the sake of humor and as a form of critique or satire of theistic belief. These professions of faith also serve to demonstrate the difficulty of refuting avowals of belief in phenomena outside human perception.

It is common when discussing the Invisible Pink Unicorn to point out that because she is invisible, no one can prove she does not exist. This is a parody of similar theistic claims about God, i.e. that because God is omnipresent, inability to detect him does not reduce his believability. The IPU serves as a parodic demonstration that utilizing a lack of evidence as proof of a deity's nature is ultimately absurd; that by this logic the IPU is just as credible as God. The IPU's two defining attributes, invisibility and color (it is pink), are inconsistent and contradictory; this is part of the satire. The paradox of something being invisible yet having visible characteristics (eg. color) is reflected in the mythology of some East Asian cultures.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of a parody religion founded in 2005 by physics graduate Bobby Henderson to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution. In an open letter on his website, Henderson professes belief in a supernatural Creator that resembles spaghetti and meatballs called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and calls for Pastafarianism to be taught in science classrooms, essentially invoking a reductio ad absurdum argument against the teaching of intelligent design.[1][2] Followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) call themselves Pastafarians, a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian.

Due to its recent popularity and media exposure, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is used by atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, as a modern version of Russell's teapot.

Generally when looking at a faith it's good to look at the number of people who would say it has revolutionized their lives.

Very few people place all their faith in the invisible pink unicorn or can say their life has been transformed by the celestial teapot. Would you really die in the name of the Flying Spaghetti monster?

Which leads to another question: why trust something like this?
Lots of people have a philosophy/belief because it somehow makes your life easier to bear. Atheists believe only weak minded people have a faith - it's an escape from reality. Looking at Christianity, most Christians are being constantly challenged about their faith and being rejected by society for it. It's a lot easier to live as an atheist than a Christian, so Christianity can't be simply a way of making life easier. It must be something more.

Generally when looking at a faith it's good to look at the number of people who would say it has revolutionized their lives.

Very few people place all their faith in the invisible pink unicorn or can say their life has been transformed by the celestial teapot. Would you really die in the name of the Flying Spaghetti monster?

Would you die in the name of Ogdy? The Norse believed he touched their lives also.

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Which leads to another question: why trust something like this?
Lots of people have a philosophy/belief because it somehow makes your life easier to bear. Atheists believe only weak minded people have a faith - it's an escape from reality. Looking at Christianity, most Christians are being constantly challenged about their faith and being rejected by society for it. It's a lot easier to live as an atheist than a Christian, so Christianity can't be simply a way of making life easier. It must be something more.

Not sure what you are getting at there - the link you've given seems to be giving evidence against what you're saying:

eg. "61: Atheists often hold bonfires at Atheist meeting centers, where Christian literature can be thrown into the fire. (Contributed by Yellgnats P. Fiddlestein.)" That doesn't have much to do about how Atheists are persecuted - they're burning Christian texts.

"11.. Recently, several Atheists have shot and killed Christian priests as they were going to work in their churches. Similarly, Atheists are well known for blockading churches on Sunday mornings."
- again, doesn't sound very easy for Christians, does it?

And at the end:
"This list only scratches the surface. It is high time that God-fearing American Christians rose up and spoke out against the horrendous anti-Christian bias that has taken hold in our country!"

The source you use seems to be supporting Christianity, so I'm not sure what you are trying to portray using it.

As to your signature -
"All thinking men are atheists. - Ernest Hemingway"
I can understand people being agnostic, but to say you as a human have searched the universe far and wide and found that there is no God in it is a bit arrogant and assuming, isn't it?

Not sure what you are getting at there - the link you've given seems to be giving evidence against what you're saying:

eg. "61: Atheists often hold bonfires at Atheist meeting centers, where Christian literature can be thrown into the fire. (Contributed by Yellgnats P. Fiddlestein.)" That doesn't have much to do about how Atheists are persecuted - they're burning Christian texts.

"11.. Recently, several Atheists have shot and killed Christian priests as they were going to work in their churches. Similarly, Atheists are well known for blockading churches on Sunday mornings."
- again, doesn't sound very easy for Christians, does it?

And at the end:
"This list only scratches the surface. It is high time that God-fearing American Christians rose up and spoke out against the horrendous anti-Christian bias that has taken hold in our country!"

The source you use seems to be supporting Christianity, so I'm not sure what you are trying to portray using it.

That webpage was meant to be satire. The anti-Christian prejudices on there are what happens to atheists.

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As to your signature -
"All thinking men are atheists. - Ernest Hemingway"
I can understand people being agnostic, but to say you as a human have searched the universe far and wide and found that there is no God in it is a bit arrogant and assuming, isn't it?

A hard atheist does not claim to have absolute certainty of the nonexistence of god. Please study a bit about atheism. In fact, I could ask you the same thing: isn't it arrogant to say that you as a human has searched the entire universe and has found some evidence of god? Or if you haven't found any evidence of god but still believe in him, that's almost the same thing as believing in fairies.

A hard atheist does not claim to have absolute certainty of the nonexistence of god. Please study a bit about atheism. In fact, I could ask you the same thing: isn't it arrogant to say that you as a human has searched the entire universe and has found some evidence of god? Or if you haven't found any evidence of god but still believe in him, that's almost the same thing as believing in fairies.

To have proof of somethings existence is much easier then proving somethings lack of existence. In order say something does not exist in the universe, you need to have complete knowledge of the whole universe - every single particle. To prove something does exist all you need to do is witness it.

Wikipedia:
"Atheism is the state of disbelief or non-belief[1] in the existence of a deity or deities." - I assume that means you disbelieve the existence of God. Or are there different kinds of atheist? ...

A hard atheist does not claim to have absolute certainty of the nonexistence of god. Please study a bit about atheism. In fact, I could ask you the same thing: isn't it arrogant to say that you as a human has searched the entire universe and has found some evidence of god? Or if you haven't found any evidence of god but still believe in him, that's almost the same thing as believing in fairies.

To have proof of somethings existence is much easier then proving somethings lack of existence.

Yes, that's exactly my position. It would be very hard, or even impossible, for me to prove that god does not exist. You're the one who must simply show it to me.

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In order say something does not exist in the universe, you need to have complete knowledge of the whole universe - every single particle. To prove something does exist all you need to do is witness it.

You could use these same arguments for fairies. To say for sure that leprechauns do not exist, you would have to have complete knowledge of the universe. Yet, we have no problem saying with complete certainty that they are imaginary.

As for personal experiences, do you believe aliens abduct people just because there are eyewitnesses that say so? Or the Loch Ness monster?

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Wikipedia:
"Atheism is the state of disbelief or non-belief[1] in the existence of a deity or deities." - I assume that means you disbelieve the existence of God. Or are there different kinds of atheist? ...

I strongly do not believe a god exists, but I can't know there isn't one. And, yes, there are two main categories of atheist - strong atheists disbelieve in the existence of a god, weak atheists have a lack of theistic belief.

Yes, that's exactly my position. It would be very hard, or even impossible, for me to prove that god does not exist. You're the one who must simply show it to me.

Why not genuinely ask him to show himself to you? There's only so much that a person can do to introduce you to someone - its up to you to communicate with him himself.
If you're not sure what to say, try:

God, I don't even believe you're there, but if you are, I want to find you - I want to know the truth. So if you exist, please show yourself to me.

Don't expect thunderbolts, but he will reply if you ask him.

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You could use these same arguments for fairies. To say for sure that leprechauns do not exist, you would have to have complete knowledge of the universe. Yet, we have no problem saying with complete certainty that they are imaginary.

As for personal experiences, do you believe aliens abduct people just because there are eyewitnesses that say so? Or the Loch Ness monster?

I don't believe in God because eyewitnesses tell me he exists. I believe in him because he's shown himself to me - I've seen for myself what his power can do. That's far more reliable then any eyewitness. You're going to have to find out for yourself.

Why don't you ask Zeus or Allah to reveal himself to you? Or maybe Mithra - he's the one Jesus was mainly based on. Or how about Aphrodite - she's supposed to be pretty hot and not all that hung up on prudishness - in fact she likes sex a lot! Or hey, try the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Matt Shizzle has been banned from the Rational Response Squad website. This event shall provide an atmosphere more conducive to social growth. - Majority of the mod team

Sharky, isn't it funny that only people who believe in god have supposedly met him? A child will tell you that he has met Santa because he believes in Santa. It's an illusion caused by the power of suggestion.

Why don't you ask Zeus or Allah to reveal himself to you? Or maybe Mithra - he's the one Jesus was mainly based on. Or how about Aphrodite - she's supposed to be pretty hot and not all that hung up on prudishness - in fact she likes sex a lot! Or hey, try the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Fine. You can call out to them all you want - I'd be interested if you get a reply.